The Everton striker fired a blue flare over the edge of Gwladys Street after being thrown on the pitch during the celebrations for a goal that could prove vital to the team’s effort to avoid relegation. No action was taken against the Brazilian international by referee Kevin Friend, but the FA will investigate. A written warning could follow. “We will look into the matter, but as far as we are concerned, Richardson was trying to throw it off the ground,” said an Everton spokesman. Frank Lampard, who did not see the incident, was full of praise for the winner of the match and his goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who made a series of great saves to deny Chelsea in the second half. “I promoted Ritchie before the game because he always makes such an effort, but he has to be directed in the right way, in terms of energy and performance to put people under pressure,” said the Everton coach. “When he has his chances, he has to be clinical. For the level of aggression he can be, he must be clinical and he was today. But not only that, Demarai Gray and Anthony Gordon had a lot of work on their feet and they all performed at a very high level. “We never lost much and, when we did, we had a top goalkeeper to save us.” Everton remain third from the bottom, two points behind Leeds and Burnley, but with a game in hand in both relegation opponents. Lampard added: “I feel there is a long way to go. “We can control our games, but we can not control Burnley and Leeds.” Lampard’s team was greeted with a stir when they arrived at the stadium by thousands of fans who lined up on Goodison Road to wait for the team’s bus. Captain Seamus Coleman admitted: “I’ve been here a long time, but I have never been in this situation before, and I never felt what I felt when I entered the stadium today – the genuine passion, the faces of great men as they sang ‘Everton’. If this does not excite you, you can also hang the boots. We did it for them. “ The Fiver: sign up and receive our daily football email. Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted that he feared for the team’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League after a four-game winning streak. “I said it many weeks ago, I never feel safe and it does not matter if we are in a game for the first, two, three or four – out of the last four games we have four points and that will never be enough,” he said. Τουχελ. “Right now we do not get points when we play well and we lose when we do not get them. “It’s a bad mix.”
